Did a Corrupt Cop Kill Notorious B.I.G.?

Thanks to the Freedom of Information Act, we now have access to a thick FBI file detailing the agency's investigation into the 1997 shooting death of Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace. The case, which now falls under the jurisdiction of the LAPD, has famously run cold. But these documents, though heavily redacted, bring some interesting details to light—including ballistics evidence that further links evil former LAPD officer David Mack to the murder.

It bears mentioning that nothing contained in these files (which you can view for yourself here) could be considered entirely new information, particularly for the diehard Biggie conspiracists among you. But for the rest of us, get a load of this:

Biggie was murdered on the evening of March 9, leaving a music industry event held at L.A.'s Peterson Automotive Museum. Tupac Shakur had been killed just six months earlier in Las Vegas. Biggie exited the museum with his entourage, then got into the back of a three-car caravan. At that point, a black Chevy SS Impala pulled up to his window and fired several shots. He was pronounced dead a few minutes later.

The ammunition used was extremely rare: a metal-piercing bullet called Gecko 9mm that's manufactured in Germany and available in the U.S. through just two distributors. That same rare ammunition was found at the home of Mack, a corrupt—like, seriously corrupt—cop who'd be arrested later that year for masterminding a Bank of America heist. Mack was known to have ties to Death Row Records and Marion "Suge" Knight, and police found a shrine to Tupac in his home when they raided it. Parked next to it? A black Chevy SS Impala. Mack is currently servingserved a 14-year sentence for the robbery, and insists to this day of his innocence. He was released last May.

Again, none of this is new. Biggie's family even filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Mack in 2007. But what the file does reveal is that the bureau, who entered the investigation after accusations of a cover-up, had specifically noted a remarkable failure on the part of the LAPD: the failure to connect to the crime the literal smoking-gun evidence found at the home of the very bad man who owned the exact same car as the murderer.